1 THE CASE CASE ONE: Spirit Work Knitting ( CASE TWO: Busted Knuckle Garage ( These are the case studies for the EXAM! So read carefully and understand the case. Further you are requested to visit and analyse the websites of these two cases And also choose and analyse one more website of your choice which in your view is running successful e-business

2 Busted Knuckle Garage

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4 THE CASE Goals of both companies - To increase sales, improve efficiency and boost profits through e-commerce Challenges faced by both: 1.How to design so as to transfer the personality and ambience of the retail store to the website (Design) 2.How to attract customers to the website (promotion/marketing) 3.How to convert them into paying customers – boosting online profits (functionality and interactivity of the website)

5 SOME THOUGHTS: Number of web pages – 600 billion with 6 million Web documents added each day Merely listing a site with popular Web search engines cannot guarantee that web users will find a small company’s site. Just like traditional retail stores seeking to attract customers, virtual companies have discovered that drawing sufficient traffic to a web site requires promotion – an lots of it! E-Commerce

6 GROUP WORK “No one will know you’re on the web unless you tell them and motivate them to visit” Marl Layton GROUP WORK: Imagine that you own a business and have recently launched a website for that business. Identify, with justifications, what initiatives you can take to market /promote your website to attract new customers and to generate more business?

Factors to Consider before launching into e-commerce   Web success requires a company to develop a plan for integrating the Web into its overall strategy (web design and maintenance, creating and managing a brand name, marketing and promotional strategies, sales and customer service)   Developing a deep, lasting relationship with customers takes on even greater importance on the Web.   Creating a meaningful presence on the Web requires an ongoing investment of resources – time, money, energy, and talent.   Measuring the success of a Web-based sales effort is essential to remaining relevant to customers whose tastes, needs, and preferences constantly change.

Strategies for E-Success Establishing a presence on the web is no longer a luxury. A web site is your ticket to get into the game.   Focus on a market niche – serving a small corner of the markets that giants have overlooked   Develop a community – lists, chat rooms, customer polls, web logs, guest books and message boards   Attract visitors by giving away “freebies” – one of the most important word on the web is FREE   Make creative use of , but avoid becoming a “spammer” – 85% of all s sent are spam   Make sure your Web site says “credibility”- trust and security issues are leading inhibitors ( professional look, no typos, trustworthy recently updated, information, obvious privacy policy, brand names, seal programmes, street address and contact details)   Consider forming strategic alliances – affiliate marketing/referral/associate marketing   Make the most of the Web’s global reach- overcome barriers of language, standards, customs and culture   Promote your site online and offline   Develop an effective search engine optimisation strategy

9 Promote your website: Online and Offline Registering with search engines Printing their URLs on everything related to their physical stores – on signs, in print and broadcast ads, in store windows, on shopping bags, on merchandise labels, and anywhere else their customers will see. Put the company’s website on everything the company publishes from letterhead to business cards Should consider buying ads in traditional advertising media as well as using banner ads, banner exchange programs, and cross marketing arrangements with companies selling complementary products on their own websites. Creating some type of interactivity with customers such as a web-based newsletter, posting a video about your company’s products on YouTube, writing articles that link to the company’s site, hosting a chat room that allows customers to interact with one another and with the company personnel, incorporating a bulletin board or customer generated reviews Sponsoring a contest Consider forming strategic alliances – affiliate marketing/referral/associate marketing Use customer testimonials

Other suggestions Gift ideas   Gift ideas based on price, gender or category   Suggested item pages, bargain basement sales pages, featured sales pages Loyalty   Incur the expense of attracting new customers   Establish an incentive program that reward them for repeat purchases   Frequent buyer program that offer discount or points towards future purchases, give- aways such as t-shirts with company logo or special services

11 GROUP WORK TASK From your experience of visiting various websites discuss what you think is desirable and beneficial in terms of web design, functionality and interactivity

Web Site Design Tips   Start with your target customer- careful blend of market research, sales knowhow and aesthetics (same image, style and ambience as the store)   Make sure your Web site says “credibility”- trust and security issues are leading inhibitors ( professional look, no typos, trustworthy recently updated, information, obvious privacy policy, brand names, seal programmes, street address and contact details)   Avoid clutter, huge graphics, fancy typefaces and small fonts   Include a menu bar at top of page   Include navigation buttons   Incorporate meaningful content into the site   Include a “FAQ” section   Include privacy and return policies   Watch for “typos” and misspelled words   Avoid small fonts on “busy” backgrounds   Use contrasting colors for text and graphics   Test the site on different browsers and different size monitors   Make sure the page looks appealing   Remember: Simpler is better   Consider hiring a professional to design your site.

Functionality   Give customer what they want – Aim to allow them to shop whenever they want, to find what they are looking for easily and pay for it conveniently and securely (low prices, wide selection, product availability, shopping convenience and extensive information).   Select a domain name that is consistent with the image you want to create for your company and register it.   Be easy to find.   Establish hyperlinks with other businesses, preferably those selling complementary products.   Include an option and a telephone number in your site.   Offer Web Specials   Assure customers that their online transactions are secure.   Keep your site updated. Look for opportunities to cross sell Use customer testimonials  

Functionality   Create a fast, simple check out process   Give shoppers the ability to track their orders online.   Post shipping and handling charges upfront   Consider providing free shipping if a customer’s order exceeds some minimum purchase   If you do not provide free shipping, provide multiple shipping methods   Include a progress indicator of each checkout page   Allow customers to see whether an item is in stock on the product page and not at the last stage of the checkout process   Include product photos in the shopping cart   Make it easy for customers to pay for their purchases. Credit cards are a popular online payment method. Electronic payment services such as Google’s checkout and Paypal owened by ebay allow customers to send payments to anyone with a address   Offer a simple return process  

Interactivity How a company exploits the Web’s interconnectivity and the opportunities it creates to transform relationships with suppliers, customers, and others is crucial to its success.   Collect information from visitors, but don’t put them through a tedious registration process   Create some type of interactivity with customers such as a web-based newsletter, posting a video about your company’s products on YouTube, writing articles that link to the company’s site, hosting a chat room that allows customers to interact with one another and with the company personnel, incorporating a bulletin board or customer generated reviews   Develop a community – lists, chat rooms, customer polls, web logs, guest books and message boards   Make creative use of , but avoid becoming a “spammer” – 85% of all s sent are spam   Confirm transactions and inform about progress   Create a gift idea centre   Give customers the option of calling to resolve problems they encounter. A toll-free number enables a company to track the number of problem-solving calls   Incorporate a short survey of randomly chosen customers   Provide links to encourage customer interaction   Create a well-staffed and well trained customer service response team  